SRW’s 6 Month Report

Shia Rights Watch’s 12 page, biannual report highlights the rights of Shia Muslims across the world, and intends to raise awareness of the blatant oppression of this population.

From January through June of this year, Shia in the Middle East experienced increased oppression through the various governments under which they reside. In those 6 months alone, 1,737 Shia civilians lost their lives, and 1,383 were wounded. While some of these senseless acts of violence emanated from the so-called Islamic State, who openly state that they are targeting the Shia for their religious beliefs, both state and non-state actors are at fault. There were a total of 481 human rights violations committed against the Shia throughout the Middle East during this six month period. These violations include revocation of citizenship, forced deportation, arbitrary arrests, and the denial of freedom of religion, press, assembly, and education. Iraq, Syria, Saudi Arabia, and Bahrain witnessed the worst violations, including:

252 unlawful arrests in Bahrain

1,416 deaths and 913 injuries in Iraq, 45% of which occurred in the month of May, making Iraq the country with the largest number of attacks on Shia in the world.

58 arbitrary arrests in Saudi Arabia

249 civilians deaths and 404 injuries in Syria

Shia Rights Watch invites everyone to view the report when it is officially published on August 1st.